Jeff Buckley Grace Merchandise
Grace Merchandise came from a personal fashion frustration. Finding a t shirt for a late artist is a task in and of itself. Finding a cool t shirt for a late artist felt impossible. Then I remembered I have all the tools to do it myself, so I did.
Know-How
Typography Apparel Design
Year
2024
Client
Personal |
Programs
Adobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator
Overview
This project was born from a frustration of trying to find something that really wasn’t accessible to me. I love Jeff Buckley, big fan of his music and I wanted something to show that love. Everything I was finding felt inauthentic and like a copy of the last thing I’d seen. This led me to a quick realization that I had all the tools to create what I wanted to make, so I did.
The Ask
The only ask here really lied in what did I want this to feel like? This was a representation of someone who hasn’t existed for a long time, so all we have are interpretations of this person to represent a legacy. I took this and framed how I worked in how I perceive this person and the art they made, and show that in a way I felt matched what they did.
The Process
Early Research
This was a passion project that a very self driven process, which meant I got to have fun at my own pace. I knew I wanted to do something that seemed as though it was stamped with ink, but digitally, and wanted to keep it simple. Much of the research went into different layout styles and what artist merch typically includes.
Experimentation
Outside of some very rough thumbnail sketches, much of the work for this was done within Illustrator and Photoshop. I played with different image trace settings to achieve the rough, gritty look I wanted to showcase. Alongside the aesthetic choices, I explored what to include in terms of the artist and album information. I eventually landed on an editorial style inspired by simplistic movie posters. Taking a focus on differentiating the artist and album name, I chose to include the song list and year as secondary information.
Coming out of digital
This project had the end goal of something I could wear. I had confidence in making what I wanted within my digital programs, but I explored ways to take this physical, on a college student budget. After researching various formats of fabric transfers, I landed on investing in a Gelli Plate. This piece of equipment is a gummy surface that can transfer acrylic paint from inkjet prints. With some cheap t shirts and a few tries, I was able to successfully transfer my design to a shirt that is my own design I love to walk around in.
The Result
I chose to expand this design to various formats that could act as a secondary design to the original album. I loved the process of making an homage to an artist I admire. Within the research phase of this, my eyes were opened not only to how unoriginal and sort of boring merch can be, but also how art born through admiration dies when an artist does. This felt like a rediscovery and exploration to something that is a completed project for some. This was a chance to create a tribute of someone else’s art in my interpretation.